A recent area of concern is the increasing use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) by hostile adversaries. Common UAVs small enough to be portable (i.e. human-portable) are often referred to as drones. Such UAVs can be assembled from commercially off-the-shelf materials, or purchased in a ready-to-use state. A typical UAV can carry a relatively significant payload. Electric motors may provide UAVs with relative acoustic stealth. Commercially available miniature flight control computers and sensors provide such UAVs with some degree of autonomy, mitigating the need for line of sight operation or even a continuous link to a human pilot or offboard controller.
It is anticipated that inexpensive UAVs may be used by adversaries not only for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), but also as weapon delivery platforms that may carry explosive, chemical, radiological, and/or biological payloads. Attempting to destroy UAVs carrying such payloads makes possible inadvertent abetting of an adversary's mission. That is, conventional attempts to destroy a UAV may not neutralize the payload, but may actually assist in dispersing chemical or biological agents over an area. For example, shooting down a UAV could trigger dispersal of the chemical or biological agent onboard. Nets may be utilized to capture a UAV, but a net may also be unable to stop a protected propulsion system from maintaining thrust. Thus, systems that can inhibit the ability of a UAV propulsion system to continue operating are generally desirable.